Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

We are *finally* getting down to the business of building our TTT. We have decided, now that we've finalized our plans, to build a scale model, including all components, etc., and wanted to get a sense of the value of this added step.

Anyone want to weigh in on this? Will it uncover process hiccups like we think, or is it a futile exercise that will not give us *any* idea of the process we're about to undertake.

Thanks in advance.

I do that when I build a hot rod or a custom car. Dont think it would help much on a teardrop. Just lay out the profile on a sheet of plywood & stand back & look at it.

Just build a full size model. All problems will show immediately.

Agile, I made a little model of a camper I wanted to build............ never built the camper but it was fun to do. I wouldn't waste alot of time making it to scale but just draw out a shape(s) on some heavy poster board and see what everybody thinks of the design. When I "built" the frame I used bamboo food skewers and hot glued them together and then glued the paper to the frame. I drew the windows and door shapes with magic marker and called it good.

Hell, I still had several hours in just goofing around with that thing and it was only about 8" long!!!!

Jeff

Even if it's an exercise in futility it will be a great display piece, if you do a good job on it..

I was never very good at models, so I dove right into the full size deal.

Mine is a basic design though. So a model probably wouldn't have helped me much. I never designed out my galley, that is my winter project. But at least now I have all the dimensions!

I did a scale model.

It helped me see the possable problems an sizes in relation to the whole trailer.
The larger the scale the better your problem solving will be in space and proportion as a trailer as a whole.
Drawing , scale model and real thing.

Good luck and have fun along your adventure.



Pat

I got two Pieces of oak 1/2 plywood a string and a pencil and went to town, got the jigsaw out and the rest is a work in progress. I am no good at working of plans or a model I am best when i wing it and worry about the details with my mini sledge

I did it full sized out of cardboard. I did this to see how big the compartments actually are.

A scale model COULD be helpful visualizing things but small construction kinks won't show up unless you make a large model but you may as well go into full size by then.

It can also help when someone asks what you are building. You, won't have to explain everything to them.

Here is how my galley shelves went. It is laying on it's side in this pic.

I built 1/2 a dozen models before I started my build. Of course I', not building any of the models but used bits from each one I liked. I think it helps a lot to see what it will look like. They are easily built from balsa wood.

This si the first model and probably closest to what I'm building. Now its 5 x 8 and about 4'8" high




I was any good with tools this would be nice



Color scheme for full siize build to match tow vehicle



Real build

Yup, it helped me a lot!



Then again, my model is slightly bigger than most.

GB

I actually think that full-scale is the way to go! Most of us are not professional designers and it's difficult to really visualize "the space" of a teardrop. A small model just doesn't convey space the way a large model will. If you have never seen a trailer in person, it's doubly valuable. Also, if you have a spouse who is skeptical about your plans to build a tear, having a full sized mock up will make things much more clear.

I think if I would have mocked up my gally I would have added some upper level shelves in the galley. Now I am trying to figure out how to add them after the fact (so they don't look like they were added after the fact).

Items to watch for:
- are the doors big enough to be comfortable getting in and out
- do you have enough clearance between the top of the mattress and the bottom of the cabinets - your feet have to go somewhere
- is the gally counter height at a comfortable level for the person who does most of the cooking
- do you have to lean over to reach the galley counter (too far set in from the back
- will your ice chest fit under the counter

That's just my 02¢ worth,
Joanne

GregB wrote:Yup, it helped me a lot!



Then again, my model is slightly bigger than most.

GB

GregB wrote:Yup, it helped me a lot!



Then again, my model is slightly bigger than most.

GB

Greg I really like the looks of that front overhang! I've never seen that before. I may have to incorporate something similar into what I end up doing!

very cool!

Tcurr wrote:I got two Pieces of oak 1/2 plywood a string and a pencil and went to town, got the jigsaw out and the rest is a work in progress. I am no good at working of plans or a model I am best when i wing it and worry about the details with my mini sledge

That's my problem too..


I think I will build a scale model when I'm done with the big one. My daughter can use it for her American Girl doll..

SFC Hall,

The overhang is my bay window. It is designed to overhang the tongue box. The front wall is about 105 degrees rather than 90 so you can sit up in bed and recline comfortably against it. The bottom of the bay window should be low enough to rest your arm on it.

GB

[quote="DougH"]I built 1/2 a dozen models before I started my build. Of course I', not building any of the models but used bits from each one I liked. I think it helps a lot to see what it will look like. They are easily built from balsa wood.












I think you have enough model trailers to organize your own little gathering! It'll be a small event.